Running in fear
by Bloodlover
Summary: A retelling of Leons and Adas escape during the LeonB scenario. This is my entry for the Another Order fanfic competition 2009, Darkside category.


Running in fear

By: Bloodlover

_Disclaimer: The world of R__esident Evil and the characters belong to Capcom._

Under the streets of Raccoon City lies a dangerous secret. It is a secret that has now destroyed countless lives. In this maze of pipes a few good men are still fighting the good fight.

Like Leon Kennedy.

Unknown to him a guardian angel rushes through the corridors of the laboratory. This guardian angel has an agenda of her own but the chance meeting with Leon is in process of changing her very core. This is not what is on her mind now…

***

The image from the screens at the control room of the lab was still haunting her. Leon was being stalked by the monster. It towered over him like some monster from a story but this was for real.

"Leon!"

He looked at her, surprised.

"Run!"

Ada heard him call out her name but she stood her ground. It was like her brain had shut down. All she could think of was protecting Leon. Not even when the monster was right before her did she stop.

"Get away from her!"

It was Leon. He was firing round after round into the monster.

"Ada RUN!"

She quickly spun and rolled to the side. She felt the force of the impact from the fist that crashed inches from her head. More shots found their mark. The monster raised it´s fist again and she ducked out of the way. The blow meant for her struck the monitor thing behind her. Sparks flew and some fell on her neck making it itch but it wouldn´t kill her. She used the opportunity to deliver a few shots to the head of the monster. Finally the monster known as Mr X stumbled against the railing and fell down into the lava pool far below them. That was when she felt that the now familiar feel of the pendant was gone. It was her mission objective to get a sample of the G-virus and the pendant had one inside it. But now it was gone and she couldn´t remember when she lost it. Must likely during the fight but she couldn´t see anything and the pendant had a glittery feel to it.

But to her surprise it didn´t matter as much as she had thought it would feel. The only thing she felt was relief that Leon was okay.

Ada walked over to him. "Are you alright?" He looked like he couldn´t believe what she said.

"Ada are YOU alright? You were the one that was almost killed!"

Despite his angry tone of voice Ada knew he was more worried than angry. He was dirty and wounded, both from the bullet he had took for her earlier and from newer wounds.

"I´m…. I´m fine really Leon. I was more worried about you."

He looked stunned for a moment then he slowly put his arms around her. She didn´t know if it was him or her but they moved towards each other until finally their mouths were very close. And then they kissed. It wasn´t a romantic setting but it made her feel more better than she had felt a long time. But suddenly the dream ended.

"The self destruct sequence has been activated. All employees proceed the the lower platform."

Ada looked into Leon´s eyes and saw that he was as worried as her. "Leon. That monster must have activated it by mistake…"

He nodded, a grim look on his face. "Yeah. We have to get out of here. And fast."

Ada thought quickly, going through everything she had red about the lab´s security. "There is a train on the lower level. We could use the lift to get there."

His eyes had a hopeful gleam in them. "Now that you mentioned it I think I found a file about it. But first we have to find Claire and Sherry."

Ada was already walking towards the door. "There is a control room in the laboratory. Maybe we can contact them from there."

Leon caught up with her and pushed the heavy door open. So intent on their goal, he almost cried out in surprise when his radio at his belt began to beep. As he reached for it he felt quite embarrassed. He had after all given Claire a radio so they would be able to stay in touch if either of them found an escape route…

"Leon you made it!" Even with the static from the radio he could hear how relieved she was.

"Claire, where are you? Is Sherry with you? We have found a way to escape, you need to…"

Before he had finished the sentence she interrupted him. "Leon you need to listen to me. I left Sherry in the security office. You have to save her!"

He was shocked. Why would Claire just leave Sherry? Before he could ask her she continued. "I don´t have time to explain. There are still loose ends I need to take care of. If it was possible I´d take her right now to wherever you are, but I need to do something. Her life depends on it. Please you must save her!"

Leon didn´t feel any wiser, in fact he felt even more confused. But he trusted Claire. "Okay, I´ll take her to the train at the underground level. But you need to hurry!"

"I know. Thank you. Over and out." With that she signed off. Leon looked at Ada. "It seems we will take a detour to the security office first."

They began to walk in a brisk pace, there wasn´t much time. Both of them kept a watchful eye on their surroundings. "So what will we be doing in the security office?"

"We´ll pick up a girl named Sherry and take her to the train. Then Claire will meet up with us. She said she had some loose ends to take care of. But she didn´t specify what exactly. But from the tone of her voice it must be something urgent. Besides she wouldn´t just leave Sherry if it wasn´t absolutely something she had to do."

Leon was a bit worried that the elevator would be shut down due to some emergency shutdown, but it was running as usual. Ada smiled at him.

"Relax, it will be fine…" He smiled back. Despite the fact that they wasn't yet in safety, he felt better than he had in a long time. Ada was still alive, the monster that had stalked him since the police station was gone, and they were on their way out of this nightmare.

When they finally reached the security office Ada motioned at him to let her go first. "I have the master key. If Claire locked it, which I am positive of, then this key should open it. Watch my back, we mustn´t let ourselves be surprised now."

It turned out she was correct. The door was locked but Ada opened it with a quick flick of her hand. The lock was released and they walked into the office. Except for a computer and loads of files the room also held a cot. On it was a young girl maybe ten to twelve in Ada´s estimation. She seemed to have some kind of school uniform on and a pink vest. The girl was tossing around like she was in a fever.

Leon knelt by the girl. "Hi, my name is Leon. And that lady is Ada. We will get you out of here. Claire will be with us soon."

The girl´s eyes seemed to brighten at the mention of Claire´s name. "Claire…?"

Leon carefully lifted her off the cot. "Ada, can you cover me?"

"I will Leon. Let me go first." With that Ada led the way towards the elevator. Except for the voice warning about the self destruct it was quiet but that did nothing to calm Ada. In fact it made her more on edge. The key activated the elevator and the ride went smoothly. Finally they arrived at the lower level where the train was. After they entered the train Leon went to check the controls while Ada was making Sherry comfortable. When he came back he looked worried.

"It does seem to work but the power needs to be restored. I´ll go find some way to restore the power so we can get out of here. Ada, you stay here with Sherry."

Ada nodded. "I´ll wait here Sherry will be safe. Just be careful."

He smiled and was then gone. Ada spent the following moments to make sure everything was okay. It wasn´t that she didn´t trust Leon´s judgment but it was better to have two people inspect when something was as important as this. She was also preparing the weapons and held Sherry´s hand when the girl was tossing in her sleep.

Suddenly the door burst open and Leon stormed in. He was pale and had some nasty gashes. "Ada we need to get this train moving now. I´ve opened the gate after I restored the power but we are in great danger. The monster… it has come back!"

Ada was on her feet without even thinking. "What…?!"

Leon nodded. "After I restored the power it attacked me. I shot round after round with my magnum but I think I only knocked it out. I´m not sure it was dead when I left. I just wanted to get the train moving so we can escape… Has Claire joined us?"

When she shook her head Leon grimaced as if in pain.

"Damn! I don´t want to leave her but we don´t have any time left. The monster may come back and Sherry needs some medical help. What should we do..?"

Ada walked over to him and put her hands on his shoulders. "Leon. You need to focus. I don´t know this Claire but it seems like she cares more for this girl than herself. She wanted us to save her. If she is alive I´m sure that she is heading this way. If she is not… then all we can do is getting out of here with Sherry and find her a doctor. That is all we can do."

He looked up and she saw that his eyes had a new determination in them. "You´re right. I can try calling her on the radio again." He picked up the radio and called Claire but could only hear static. He sighed but tried to contact her. "Claire, do you read me? We have only minutes to escape and a dangerous monster may be lurking around. If you can hear me please hurry, we have to go now!"

They headed into the control room for the train. Ada could see the open gate in front of them and the darkness behind it. Leon pulled the lever down and several lights went on, indicating that the train was ready to leave. Slowly it began to move getting more speed… Ada let out a breath feeling the building tension as well.

_All we can do now is hope…_

She looked at Leon and without saying anything they both made their way back to the room where Sherry was resting. The train would be operated by autopilot so there really was nothing for them to do anymore. When they got back Leon saw something in the window that made him run out. It could only mean one thing, Claire had finally arrived! Ada followed him into the next wagon where there was a door that could be open. He pulled it open and shouted for Claire. Ada saw that the tunnel was rushing up towards him and shouted a warning. Leon moved at the last second but he looked terrified for Claire. Ada felt worried too. It would be horrible if the girl missed the escape by so slim a margin…

It was like neither her or Leon could move. The silence was broken when they heard footsteps coming from the next wagon. The door was pushed open and there was Claire. Dirty, tired but alive. She smiled weakly at them.

"Good to see you Leon." She looked at Ada. "I´m Claire."

"Ada. Good to see that you caught up to us." She smiled at the young woman. She must have run like crazy.

"Thank you." Claire suddenly became serious even worried. "Where is Sherry?"

"She is back here." Leon motioned with his hand and started to walk back to where Sherry was but Claire ran past him. When they caught up with her she was standing over Sherry, seemingly administering something.

"Come on Sherry, wake up, wake up. Please…"

Ada slowly walked up to her. "What happened? And what did you gave her?"

Claire sat down beside Sherry and took the girl´s hand in her own. "She was infected by the G-virus. Her father became a creature and he infected her. I searched the lab for an antidote but couldn´t find it. But when I came across her mother she gave me a file that described how to make a vaccine for the infection. Then… William came back and killed her. I still don´t know how to tell Sherry this… Or if the vaccine is working…"

Ada sat down next to Claire and put her hand on her shoulder. She didn´t say anything but she knew that sometimes you didn´t have to. Leon walked up to them and squatted at Sherry´s side.

Suddenly Sherry´s eyelids fluttered open. "Claire…?"

Claire gasped and she moved her face closer to Sherry´s."I´m here sweetie, we all are. Are you okay?"

The girl slowly moved herself into sitting position. "I… think so. But I´m tired."

Leon smiled. "You just rest Sherry, you have been through a lot."

Ada nodded. "Indeed. You just rest and don´t worry about anything."

Sherry turned her head to look at Ada. "Who are you? I think I´ve seen you but I`m not so sure."

"We met very briefly. You ran away so fast and you dropped your pendant. I picked it up and meant to return it but sadly I lost it too. I can buy you a new one when we get to a store."

The girl looked sad but she smiled. "It´s okay. My mom gave it to me and I had a picture of my parents in it. But things can get lost… Thank you for holding on to it. But I think I need to go to sleep now."

With that Sherry laid down and closed her eyes. Ada couldn´t help letting out a sigh of relief. If Sherry had asked about her parents more… She could see the same relief in Leon´s and Claire´s eyes too. Now that Sherry was going to be fine Claire was more at ease because she grinned at Ada.

"So, Leon got you out?"

Ada caught Leon´s eye and smiled. "Yes, or rather we got ourselves out. We helped each other." Leon smiled back and nodded.

Suddenly the train shook and they all lost their balance. Ada slowly stood up, seeing the sudden terror on her friends' faces that no doubt matched her own. They were escaping the lab and that creature that had stalked Leon and her must had perished in the explosion. What could it be?

Leon had drawn his magnum. "Claire, Ada stay here with Sherry…"

In response Ada drew her own weapon. "No, I´m coming with you."

"Okay, Claire stay here with Sherry. We´ll check what is going on and come back for you."

Claire nodded and sat down next to Sherry. Leon opened the door and they went out. As soon as the door closed behind them a loud click was heard. Ada turned around swiftly and tried to open the door but it was locked.

"What happened?"

From behind the door she could hear Claire´s muffled reply. "The door to the control room is also locked. What is going on?!"

Ada could only look at Leon but neither of them knew what to do except going on. They went on slowly, checking for unseen dangers. When they arrived at the place where they had reunited with Claire, Leon stopped.

"I think I heard something from above. I think there is something on the roof."

_Great…Just what we needed!_ "I guess we have to climb up there to find out."

In that moment a large tentacle slammed through the roof and wrapped itself around Leon. Ada began to to shoot it, careful not to hit him. The tentacle let go of him and slammed him into the floor. Ada ran over to him to check him. He was alive but out. She glared at the tentacle. As if it could sense her feelings it went up through the hole in the roof that it had made. She knew she had a decision to make. She didn´t want to leave Leon but the monster could attack at any moment. She needed to stop it. She ran out and found a ladder leading up to the roof. She climbed it, wincing as the wind constantly beat against her face. When she reached the roof she saw it.

It was the monster that had attacked her and Leon at the super lift, it had gashed her pretty bad and knocked her out. It seemed to have grown into a giant slob that slowly moved across the train. She started firing at it, but the bullets didn´t seem to even wound it. And it wasn´t easy shooting while lying on her stomach, trying to hold on to the slippery roof…

"Ada!"

It was Leon. She didn´t dare to divert her attention from the monster but she knew he was coming to help her. In the corner of her eye he saw him make his way across the roof, firing round after round into the monster.

She didn´t know where the tentacle came from. One moment she was fighting, the next she felt a sharp pain and was falling. She heard Leon scream her name, felt herself falling and then nothing.

***

A few hours later Leon sat with his face in his hands. He felt like a zombie. Ada was gone, dead. After one of the monster´s tentacles had struck her down he screamed her name, tried to catch her but before his very eyes she fell from the roof into the darkness. His memories after that were blurry but he had vague memories of crawling back, screaming for Claire to try to get into the control room so they could detach the wagon where the monster was. He remembered hearing a computerized voice telling them that the train would be destroyed because of contamination. Sherry had managed to crawl through an air vent and push the switch which stopped the train. It turned out well because while he, Claire and Sherry were able to just run out of the tunnel the monster didn´t have the time to crawl past the train. The explosion which destroyed the train had wiped the monster out as well.

***

What Leon didn´t know was that they hadn´t been alone in the tunnel. Someone else was there as well. Someone who knew how to revive Ada and bring her out into safety. Someone with sunglasses and an evil agenda….

The end


End file.
